Rock Stress in the Fennoscandian Shield

Publisher Summary The in situ stress in the Earth's crust prior to excavation is an important parameter needed to design safe mines and underground excavations. For shallow constructions the stresses need to be high enough to develop the shear strength of the joints in the roof and walls of an excavation. For excavations and mines located at great depth the state of stress might exceed the strength of the rock mass and thereby cause intact rock failure, and consequent collapse. Knowledge of the in situ stresses also provides insight into crustal dynamics such as plate tectonics, earthquake prediction and seismic risk analyses. Numerous measurements of in situ stress have been conducted throughout the world and published during the past 35 years, both for specific mining and civil engineering projects and also for research programs.